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Hughes: Political polls don't really reveal what Americans are thinking

Posted: Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Ted

Hughes

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Years ago, when stalking and killing animals for food or protection was a necessity, wind direction was extremely important. Prior to stalking and closing in on a proposed target, the hunter would moisten a finger, then hold it high above his head. The cooling effect caused by evaporation, due to even the slightest breeze, would alert him to wind direction. This would allow the hunter to approach his prey from downwind. That was important, because the slightest hint of human scent would send animals fleeing in panic, especially those who might have previous experience with hunters. Meatless meals were not uncommon in those situations.

Many politicians have adopted and refined this method in an effort to blindside the populace. Seldom is a speech offered, a news release issued, or public statement uttered prior to polling, which is the modern method of holding a finger to the wind.

Many times this leads to disaster, because just as in the real world, political wind direction can change without the least bit of notice.

So, what should this teach us about polls and those who rely upon the results? Well, first we must understand the results of a poll. Polls determine the inclination of those polled at the exact moment the questions were answered. And we must realize that one statement on a Web log, or a newspaper article, or stories on a TV newscast - regardless of truth or accuracy - can convert a gentle breeze of approval into a blistering, ravaging ill wind of discontent.

Just after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on our country by ruthless, immoral savages capable of the most unimaginable atrocities, President Bush, with the approval of Congress, and with an extremely high job approval rating, announced we would take whatever steps necessary, in whatever country they were found, to defeat the fanatical zealots who had so ruthlessly killed thousands of our people in a single day.

As far as the president is concerned, nothing has changed. We still are fighting and winning the war on terror. We've had some setbacks. We've suffered losses that we all mourn, but the war is going well, for a war without fronts. And anyone - independent, Libertarian, Democrat or Republican - who gives support to any war must expect loss of life as a result of that war. That's what war is about. It's ugly. It's brutal. It's savage. And if we lose the war on terror, it's disaster.

A few short weeks ago, even with a great economy, the president's job approval rating was down in the 39 percent range. Now, what does this say about polls? The way I see it is this: The only thing that has changed is the way the people felt at the moment the poll was taken. And that's understandable. We have a number of national TV news networks, whose tactics are nearly as savage and ruthless as those we are fighting, filling the airwaves with defeatism 24 hours a day.

We have an opposition party in Congress that appears willing to sacrifice our national security for its return to power.

Lately, the president's approval rating has started to inch up. It's not because he has changed. It's more because people are listening less to vitriolic speech and paying more attention to the truth.

Why is it that many of us stand ready to ignore truth and embrace falsehood? Why are we deaf to truth while we scramble to hear fabrication, deception and dishonesty? Are we in the process of abandoning the very principles that grounded our forefathers and our nation? Unless we are grounded, anchored, or stabilized, we are apt to float or flutter like a leaves in the wind, or pieces of bark floating on the water. Rudderless and without power, we are subject to end up anywhere, many times in places we would rather not be, surrounded by others in the same unprincipled state, with only the wind - be it kind and gentle or ill and bitter - to transport us to the next eddy or lee where we will stagnate until the wind returns and carries us away.

This is true not only in political matters, but in our personal lives, our community lives, and, most especially, our spiritual lives. The way we raise our children, the way we support causes in which we believe, the way we treat those around us who may be suffering, or grieving, or in need, all depend upon where we stand and with whom we stand.

Today, everything we hold dear is in peril. Our country is threatened, our schools are infested with drugs and immorality.

Our children are saturated with filth, and our government is being corrupted by money and power. We must not only stand, we must take a stand. If we choose to stand on the principles of faith and patriotism, the rule of law and morality, then we will not be blown to and fro by even the slightest wind of falsehood or strange doctrine.

 Ted Hughes is an Oglethorpe County resident and former county commissioner.